The New Hampshire State Police Memorial Scholarships are appropriated through the combined efforts of the New Hampshire State Police Benevolent Association (Sergeant James S. Noyes Memorial Scholarship) and the Gearty-Parker Memorial Fund (the Gearty-Parker Memorial Scholarship).

The Benevolent Association initiated its scholarship program in 1981. The scholarships were originally known simply as the New Hampshire State Police Benevolent Association Scholarships. In 1995, the Board of Directors voted to rename the scholarship in the memory of deceased member and past President, James S. Noyes. Sergeant Noyes was shot and killed in the line of duty on October 3, 1994. A total of five scholarships in the amount of $500.00 each have been awarded annually.

The Gearty-Parker Memorial scholarship fund was established in 1990. The fund was established in the memory of deceased Troopers Joseph E. Gearty and Gary P. Parker who were killed in an automobile accident while on duty in November of 1989. The Gearty-Parker Memorial Scholarship Fund has also awarded five scholarships annually in the amount of $500.00 each.

With the two separate entities awarding their scholarships on an independent basis, the potential for all of the scholarships to be awarded to a very small group of applicants existed. A single applicant could potentially be awarded a scholarship by both groups. This could significantly limit the number of students who would ultimately benefit from these scholarships.

It was suggested that the two groups combine efforts to establish a system for awarding these scholarships that would benefit a larger group of recipients. Through the cooperative efforts of the two groups, a single application was devised. Each group’s scholarships are still awarded in the name of their chosen memorial; however, applicants are limited to one application. This system provided for the awarding of a total of ten scholarships annually in the amount of $500.00 each to ten separate applicants.

At the November 8, 2005 Semi-Annual Meeting of the Benevolent Association, the Board of Directors voted to increase the number of applicants chosen to receive a scholarship from five to seven.

At the July 22, 2008 Scholarship Committee Meeting, the member representing the Parker-Gearty Memorial Scholarship advised the Committee that the number of recipients for this scholarship has increased from five to seven.

At the July 1, 2009 Scholarship Committee Meeting, the member representing the Parker-Gearty Memorial Scholarship advised the Committee that the number of recipients for the scholarship for this year has decreased from seven to five – the traditional number awarded.

At the March 16, 2010 meeting of the Benevolent Association, the Board of Directors voted to increase the number of applicants chosen to receive a scholarship from seven to ten.

For the year 2014, there will be a total of 18 scholarships in the amount of $500.00 each awarded - ten from the Benevolent Association, seven from the Gearty-Parker Memorial Scholarship and one from the Marilyn M. Gates Memorial Scholarship.